Steve, a National Board member and firearms and Taser lead, becomes the second national chair to be elected by police officers in England and Wales and takes office from tomorrow.

Derbyshire branch chair Tony Wetton said he was looking forward to working with Steve in the coming months.

He said:  “Everyone at Derbyshire Police Federation sends congratulations to Steve and also sends thanks to the other candidates who stood for election.

“National Federation chair is a big job with a lot of responsibility and Steve can be absolutely certain he has our full support in what are expected to be challenging times.

“We need to be united as an organisation moving forward and that way we can try to make sure our voices are not ignored and we can press hard for the best possible outcomes for our members.

“The challenges ahead have been well documented but I am sure that with a strong mandate and the solid backing of the membership the incoming chair and his leadership team will lead the Police Federation in the right direction and get the results we are looking for.”

Steve joined the Metropolitan Police in 1995, before moving to the Met’s Firearms Command. He became a Federation rep because he wanted to help colleagues that were going through a difficult time.

He said: “I feel incredibly honoured to have been elected the next national chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales.

“I would like to acknowledge the hard work of Brian Booth and Ché Donald for standing as candidates and running very strong campaigns - they have my respect for being professional throughout.

“My sincere thanks goes to everyone who voted for me, from the National Council nomination stage, to the membership for getting involved in the vote. The level of support and encouragement I have received has helped me through the process and means a great deal to me.  

“I am looking forward to working with the National Council, the National Board and our members to seek the very best we can for policing, and with support, I genuinely believe we can make our voices heard to secure a better deal for policing.”